DANCE AND VR-AR WORKSHOP

Homecoming project affiliated workshop designed for universities, schools and communities

This workshop is using dance, collaborative drawing techniques, Augmented (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to explore connections between dance and drawing through the creative use of technology. Through a series of group exercises, spanning from movement improvisation, and line drawing on paper, to mixed reality drawing using mobile devices (AR) and drawing in VR using TiltBrush software, participants will be prompted to translate these drawings into movement, both individually and as a group.

The workshop will aim to spark participants’ imagination, showing how drawing can be translated into movement and vice versa through the use of interactive mediums of AR and VR. Furthermore, the workshop tends to act as an entry point into the creative use of VR and AR technology and empower participants to seek out the skills needed for working in the immersive and interactive industries which are estimated to be £62.5 billion worth added to the economy by 2030*.

No previous experience in drawing, dance or using AR / VR technology is needed.

*The Immersive Economy in the UK 2019, Report co-authored by Immersive UK and Digital Catapult

Workshop breakdown:

Dance Workshop led by Georgia 

The first part of the workshop consists of movement improvisation and set material exercises aiming to awaken the body and fine-tune all the joints’ articulation. We will focus on understanding body mechanics and on using breath to find a sense of space and flow within the body.

Drawing and Movement led by Kristina and Georgia

Using felt tip pens to draw on paper, participants are asked to explore line drawing as a journey, walking a line across several sheets of paper. Starting as individual journeys, the participants will then move into groups and explore their drawings combined into group journeys. After collaging a group work of combined line drawings, participants are asked to interpret the journey as movement, thinking about the line drawing as a choreographic score. 

Drawing and Movement in VR + AR led by Kristina and Georgia 

Building on the previous two sessions, participants are divided into groups and each group takes turns doing exercises in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Focusing on the interdisciplinarity and the interchangeability of mediums, we are using a blended approach of mixed reality, where the movement drawings can be seen as part of the physical space. The groups can experience each other’s work in the virtual space, watching tasks unfold on a screen using projection.

A mobile application is needed for this task and participants are asked to use their mobile phones.

Testimonials

• ‘The workshop proposal is an innovative approach to interdisciplinary art. Combining drawing, and virtual reality with dance creates an exciting opportunity for visitors from the local community to see the overlaps and potential of interdisciplinary art explored outside the conventional. With the interactive industries estimated to add £62.5 billion to the economy by 2030, the proposal is very relevant and will bring creative technology experiences to participants encouraging new perspectives to explore future technology and skills. Kristina and Georgia are creative thinkers and conscientious practitioners.’

Premlata Mistry, Head of Programmes, SPACE Gallery

• ‘The students (16 - 18 yr old) were amazing, and approached the workshop with an open mind, whilst working out of their comfort zones. They embraced this innovative way of exploring visual and performance art giving them a valued insight into Virtual and Augmented Reality, visual art and performance. We would welcome the opportunity to work with Dance-as-design again. We would target students aged 14-18 yr old who through their exam choices will be looking ahead to where their future careers and interests lie. To have the opportunity to experience and work with virtual reality technology would be an introduction to this new pathway for many students making cultural capital connections.’

Marianne Carlton, Artsmark Coordinator, Beal High School, Ilford

• ‘It was a mind opening experience. I loved combining drawing and dance. As a fine artist, it was such a new approach for me and it took me out of my comfort zone.’

Workshop participant

About the Workshop leaders

Georgia Tegou a choreographer and stage director pioneers the 'Dance-as-design' approach, intertwining choreography with design to craft immersive visual environments. Drawing inspiration from architecture, sculpture, fashion, and visual arts, her work explores the symbiotic relationship between dance and spatial arts, seeking to encapsulate the nuances of the human condition. With notable achievements including opening the Dance Umbrella International Festival 2022 and presenting works at Sadler's Wells, the Royal Opera House, Onassis Stegi, the Greek National Opera, the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2021, The Place, ZfinMalta National Dance Company, Southbank Centre, The Whitechapel Gallery among others, Tegou's practice has received acclaim. Her work has been described as 'Visually evocative' (Eckhard Thiemann/The Lowry) 'Dreamlike, (The Times), 'Tremendously clever’, ‘Admirably Strong’ (Sanjoy Roy), ‘work that’s shifting and challenging dance and its intersectionality to broaden access to wider communities’ (Dance Umbrella). She has choreographed two official music videos for dance-pop cult favorite Róisín Murphy, ‘Plaything’ and ‘The Rumble’ and she has directed fashion editorials.

Trained at the Greek National School of Dance (KSOT) and the Professional Dance School ‘Rallou Manou’ in Athens she received education in both classical and contemporary dance. In 2013 she attained a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography with Distinction from the University of Roehampton, where she continued working as a Senior Lecturer in Dance until 2022. She is a Higher Education Academy Fellow, she was recognized with an ‘Excellence in Teaching Award’ and she guest lectures globally. Recipient of a OneDanceUK Choreographers Observership, Tegou collaborated with Royal Opera House movement director Kate Flatt. She is currently an artist in residence at Somerset House Exchange, a programme supporting extraordinary interdisciplinary practitioners. 

Kristina Pulejkova is a visual artist based in London. Her interdisciplinary practice is informed by science and technology. Kristina’s work explores how the use of technology might lead to greater forms of sustainability in human-nature relationships. Working across moving image, sound and installation, she aims to build subjective narratives based on scientific data and principles. In her work, she tends to imagine voices from creatures, objects, and even atoms to inhabit non-human perspectives. Through the use of immersive technology, her works often deal with environmental issues, telling personal stories that place audiences at the centre of the scene, allowing for a protagonist's perspective and a different way of seeing.

Kristina holds a Magisterium Degree (BA + MA) in Painting and Animation from the University for Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria (2012) and an MA Degree in Art and Science from Central Saint Martins, London, UK (2014). She is the recipient of the inaugural FLAMIN Fellowship by Film London (2017). Kristina’s works have been exhibited/screened at the National Gallery, Skopje, MK; MoCA, Skopje MK; The Science Museum, London, UK; MAN Museum, Sardinia, IT; The V&A, London, UK; MAK, Vienna, AT; Project Space Kunsthalle, Vienna, AT; Het Glaspaviljoen, Eindhoven, NL; Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam, NL; Art COP21 Paris, FR; Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK; Art Licks Festival, London UK; Lewisham Art House, London, UK; and Royal College of Arts, London, UK amongst others.